At a glance…
- MasterChef Australia went big this season with its guest judges, and on Sunday night, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, joined the show!
- Formerly Meghan Markle, the Duchess, took a break from her visit to Australia with Prince Harry to be on the show
- She set the challenge, which was to celebrate seasonal ingredients.
- While on the show, the Duchess shared some insights into her family life with Prince Harry and her Emmy-nominated lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan.
MasterChef got the royal treatment on Sunday night when Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, joined as a guest judge. Her attendance was widely promoted, but obviously the contestants had no idea – and naively thought that the red carpet was for the top four.
“A global icon, a philanthropist, a humanitarian,” Poh introduces the special guest to the contestants. “A woman known around the world for her heart, her voice and her deep love of home cooking… the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle!”
Now, there was some controversy around Poh calling Meghan “Meghan Markle”, aka her maiden name. It is the name she is most known as, and the Duchess of Sussex doesn’t always roll off the tongue. But she also tells the judges to call her Meghan, so…no harm, no foul.
Meghan tells them that she is so “honoured” to be part of MasterChef and she’s a fan of both the US and Australian version (but wouldn’t give up who was her favourite).
“It was an easy yes,” Meghan said in a statement ahead of the episode airing. “It’s such a great show. I’m just really honoured that I was asked to be able to be here with you and to be able to judge some of these meals”
‘No pressure, this is going to be great,” Meghan reassures the remaining four, who are all starstruck. And maybe a little lovestruck, the remaining four are mesmerised by the Duchess.
Read on for the best moments of her appearance on the show.
Meghan opens up about food and family life with Prince Harry
Jean Christophe asks Meghan what she likes to cook for her family, to which the Duchess responds:
“That’s a tough one because I have a lot of palettes to appease. My husband, being from the UK, loves a lot of meat, potatoes, cream sauce. Whereas I’m a California girl, I like grilled fish, grilled meats, lots of citrus. I just like using really pure, natural herbs and spices, like basil and oregano.”
But she doesn’t mind a bit of heat and specifically says that a mix of “savoury and sweet, I think, is always helpful.”
“He can handle a really good curry,” Meghan says of her “hubby” Prince Harry; the kids are “great eaters”, “we’re very lucky”. She added that their home and veggie garden is a “luxury” and great teaching tool for her children.
“If you can pick it, you can have it,” she tells the judges, is her rule when the children ask for a snack.
What was Meghan’s MasterChef challenge?
Sunday night is usually Mystery Box Challenge. However, production swapped out the box for a velvet curtain behind which was the Duchess’s favourite seasonal ingredients.
“These are all things that, for me, feel really nostalgic”, Meghan explains of her choices, which include carrots, Jerusalem artichokes, Brussels sprouts, celeriac, local Australian honey, macadamia nuts, quince, lemons, apples, mandarins and strawberries.
The aim of the challenge is to celebrate seasonal ingredients.
“There is a lot of optionality here” Meghan adds that they choose one of the ingredients to hero and bring some family history to their dish.
“I love it if there is a connection you can find…what is the story behind it,” however Sofia also adds that the dish must be “fit for a duchess.”
She did share some advice that she gave the contestants:
“I told the contestants just to have fun. There is a lot of pressure, especially at this part of the show, down to the final four, but as long as they threw their heart into it, created something personal, and really connected to it, you’re going to taste it in the meal. And we really did. I think they had a good time; I certainly did! I had the best time!”
Banana bread break
The last time Meghan was in Australia, during her royal tour with Prince Harry in 2018, she famously asked to borrow a kitchen to make banana bread with a family in Dubbo.
Poh took inspiration from that event and made her own version to share with the Duchess, with coconut, date, and banana bread.
Sofia, Poh and Meghan go to one side to try the bread (none for Jean Christophe), and Meghan immediately asks for the recipe.
The Duchess chats With Love, Meghan
About midway through the episode, the Duchess opens up about her now Emmy-nominated (and since cancelled) lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan.
“We had so much fun on my show, but it’s very different,” Meghan tells the judges. “It was about hosting and hospitality and taking it easy for a home cook,” she says to laughter from Poh.
“This is the antithesis!” They both say in unison.
“The stakes are so high, you can feel the pressure,” she adds of MasterChef. “But also I do love that they have so much support from everyone else.”
The excitement, she says, is the same as on her show as they are both “cooking for joy.”
Meghan breaks MasterChef protocol
Whatever her former-royal protocol, Meghan broke MasterChef protocol by deciding not to yell “30 minutes to go!” as is standard (and expected) of the MasterChef judges. She says that she doesn’t like to yell. Instead, she opts to tell each of the contestants individually that they have little over half an hour left.
It’s nice,…but it’s a timed competition; it’s not the energy we need. In fact, the boys are all startstuck and blush. Casper cuts himself with the peeler while describing her effect on the contestants.
“That was a terrible poker face”
The judges are meant to stay tight-lipped (for the most part) when sampling dishes at the benches. However, when Meghan and Sofia taste Casper’s Jerusalem artichoke puree, she immediately says, “Very good.”
To which Sofia responds, “That’s a terrible poker face.” And the two dissolve into giggles at his bench.
The rapport with Poh and Meghan
Several media outlets have claimed that there was tension or drama between judge Poh Ling Yeow and guest Meghan. However, I didn’t see anything of the sort. In fact, as Channel 10 put it, it looked like they became “instant besties”. One moment that was referenced is the banana bread tasting. Meghan looks at Poh intensely as she tastes it. Some outlets claim that this is a look of envy or annoyance. All I saw was someone who liked what she was tasting and wanted the recipe.
The two women frequently laugh together throughout the episode in what appear to be unscripted moments – but it’s hard to tell on a reality television show! A few times throughout the episode, they said the same thing at the same time; it was really sweet. It really seemed like they got along, or were simply professional in what is a work setting.
Prince Harry makes an appearance
During the judges’ tasting of Aaron’s dish, Prince Harry called Meghan! One of the production crew came over with her phone, apologising for the interruption. Was it planned? Probably, but annoying for Sofia who was mid-sentence.
“Hi my love,” she says, to which he responds, “G’day.”
It looks like Harry is in a military museum of some kind, which makes sense as at the same time that Meghan was filming, Harry was visiting the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. It does look like he’s in Anzac Hall.
She gives him a close-up of Aaron’s dish but tells him it would be too spicy for him!
What the contestants cook
Casper
Casper chose Jerusalem artichoke, and he infused the entire dish with elements that were a callback to Meghan’s background. She mentioned she loves spice, so the dressing is made with ‘nduja, and the plate features grapes – which, if you know California, they are spoiled with grapes.
Meghan says it’s “beautifully balanced” and “pitch perfect”. Jean Christophe calls it “genius”.
Vinnie
Vinnie is celebrating celeriac in his crusted eye fillet with celeriac puree and celeriac flowers. He calls this dish an elevated culmination of everything he’s learned. But is it good enough for a duchess? Poh agrees that the dish shows how far he’s come in the kitchen. Meghan says that she loves the dish, calling it the “most elevated” version of Prince Harry’s preferred meat and potatoes dish.
“H would love this dish,” she says. “It’s a very easy, craveable dish.”
Aaron
Unknowingly, Aaron chooses carrots to showcase bang kuang char, a dish that his grandmother used to make for him. Turns out Meghan would also have chosen carrots, as she loves growing them in the garden with her children. He is the only contestant who is bringing a strong familial story to his dish. Poh and Aaron connect over the traditional way his grandmother would spend hours preparing the dish, which Meghan says is “Lovely”. Their grannies both had the same English name of Mary!
“I love that you did something that was sentimental to you,” she tells him. After she tastes it, she gushes about how much she loves it, and would bottle and take home his sambal. However, the carrots aren’t super strong.
But they get interrupted by…Prince Harry calling! He does say that Aaron’s dish looks lovely.
Petro
Petro is last up with his celeriac dessert with celeriac ice cream, pickled apple and hazelnut crumb. During the challenge, Meghan told him the idea for the dish mesmerised her and was brilliant. However, Sofia advised him that the elements didn’t go together. However, he pressed on.
A celeriac dessert is a first for everyone in the kitchen, including Petro.
Meghan’s poker face is definitely better – she is a former actress after all – and the episode goes to break as her eyes fall before she delivers her critique.
“I cannot understand how this is so good,” she finally says. “This is so extraordinary; the execution is beautiful”, adding that the balance of flavours is perfect, as is the celebration of celeriac.
“It feels very Michelin Star to me,” she ends.
Who makes it to the top three?
It came down to two dishes: Casper and Petro.
Poh says it was tough, but the first person through to the semifinals is…Petro!!
“It means the absolute world,” he tells the crew.
“I can’t wait to go back to the hotel and tell H all about it,” Meghan tells the judges after the contestants leave.
